WAPO

The increase in public consciousness of the necessity of environmental protection and of a careful use (and re-use) of natural resources has made the management and control of waste waters containing non-biodegradable organic compounds a key factor. Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) have been proposed as alternative or complementary techniques applied in cases where biotechnological methods are ineffective.

Costs of hydroxyl radical generation are quite high, and therefore AOPs cannot be applied to large flows of waste water. In general, preference should be given to methods that combine high rates of radical generation with the potential of treating limited flows of rather high pollutant concentration. Ideally, industrial waste waters of known sources may be abiotically pre-treated to transform biorefractory and/or biocidal components into biodegradable waste, or to reduce the content of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to the capacity of the downstream biological treatment station. The elimination of highly biocidal medical waste and related xenobiotics, found at very low but nevertheless consequential concentrations in drinking water resources, is becoming a major topic of research and development.

The group focuses on the large-scale degradation of organic waste. Our 12 L pilot plant measures the key parameters of the system online and reacts to them, modifying the process conditions according to previously programmed models in order to increase the efficiency of the treatment. The flexibility of the plant, which supports several operating conditions, allows a number of AOPs to be studied and combined:

• Photolysis
• Fenton
• Photo-Fenton
• Photocatalysis
• H₂O₂/UV

The possibility of monitoring and automating the plant also helps in the search for lower-cost operating settings. The aim of the treatment and, ultimately, the economic data decide which AOP is used.